Educational appliance or game.



Patented Ian. 23, I900.

T. E. THOMPSON.

(Application filed June 22, 1899.)

EDUCATIONAL APPLIANCE OR GAME.

$5, I lm m: "cams PETERS 00.. FHOYO-LITHJ. waxmraufon. u. c.

.(No Model.)

TATES THOMAS E. THOMPSON, OF LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

EDUCATIONAL APPLIANCE OR GAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'641,'738, dated January 23, 1900.

Application filed June 22,1899. Serial No. 721,414. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. THoMPsoN, of Leominster, in the county of Worcesterand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Educational Appliances or Games, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of edu cational appliances or games in which a board is employed having a series of grooves or channels and a number of sliding blocks adapted to be moved about into and out of said channels and capable of being arranged in different orders or groupings.

In carrying out the present invention I employ a board of this character having a series of grooves or channels closed at one end and one or more secondary grooves or channels connected with the said series of grooves and a number of sliding blocks adapted to be moved into and out of and through the said grooves, so as to be grouped in different arrangements in the first said series of grooves.

Opposite or at the head of each of the closed-- end grooves of the first said series is marked a distinctive character, symbol, or designation, the symbol of each groove difiering from the symbols of the other'grooves. The blocks are to be arranged by the user in groups relating to the respective grooves, and the blocks of each group bear expressions or embodiments of the symbol of one of the grooves.

It is the object of the game to start with the blocks of the several groups disarranged and interspersed among each other and then to bring them together in the respective grooves in which they belong.

The invention will be more fully understood from the succeeding description and claim, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan view of an appliance constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 represents a partial plan view showing another embodiment. Fig. 4 represents a partial plan view showing a modification of structure. vFig. 5 represents a sectional view of said modification.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, a is a board or base on the upper side of which are secured a number of strips or bars a a, dividing the board off into a number of grooves or channels bb b 19 The grooves 19 b of the innermost series are arranged parallel to each other side by side and are closed at one end and open at the other end. Said grooves are connected across their open ends by a longitudinally-extending groove b ,which connects with the two outermost grooves 11 b here shown, the last said grooves following the contour of the board.

0 0 represent a series of blocks movable into and out of and through the various grooves in the board, the construction being such that the said blocks are prevented from leaving the board. To effect this, the grooves may be undercut, as represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and the blocks shaped like the frusta of pyramids, so as to be retained in the grooves, or the construction may be such as represented in Figs. 4 and 5, which show blocks 0, having a head portion, a base portion, and a connecting-shank, the base and shank being adapted to slide in grooves 11 b b of anin= verted-T shape. Any other suitable or convenient construction for preventing the blocks from leaving the board may be employed.

At the head of each groove b or b of the innermost series is marked a distinctive character, symbol, or designation which distin guishes that groove from the others. This character maybe a numeral, as shown in Fig. 1, in which the numerals from 2 to 10, inclusive, are marked at the heads of the grooves 19 The blocks 0 and c are marked in groups, each block of a group bearing a different expression or embodiment of the numeral at the head of one of the grooves-that is, those blocks belonging to the groove marked F 2, for instance, will bear the symbols 64, 8-6, 10S, 1+1, &c.,all of which express a result equal to 2, the numeral at the head of the groove. Similarly the blocks belonging to the groove having the numeral 3 will be marked with the symbols of 6, 6+3, 8 5, &c. The

blocks relating to the rest of the grooves of the series b are marked in like manner. As the blocks of the several groups are interchangeable, they may be thoroughly disarranged by moving them into and out of the grooves of the series b and through the grooves 11, h, and li and may then be arranged in theirproper grouping by the child or pupil.

In Fig. 3 the symbols marked at the heads of the grooves are syllables or groups of letters, and the bloeksrelatingto any onegroove are marked with different words containing the said syllable or group of letters. Thus the first groove in Fig. 3 has marked at its head the letters At, and the blocks 0 belonging to that groove bear the Words Cat, Bat, Mat, dsc. Similarly the second The grooves may be cut in the board or base by a suitable machine instead of being formed by strips attached to the base.

I claim A board provided with a series of grooves or channels closed at one end, and with a groove or channel connecting the other ends of said grooves; each closed groovehaving at its closed end or head a distinctive symbol, character, or designation, the symbols of the several grooves diiterin g from each other; and a series of groups of movable blocks adapted to slide into and out of the closed grooves of said series and through the connecting-groove, each block of a group bearing an expression or embodiment of the symbol at the head of one of the closed grooves.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS E. THOMPSON. 

